Prologue
Harry is laid in an ambulance at the moment. Pretty depressing, I know. But hey, don't blame me, blame his uncle. It was him who thought hitting him with a belt would be a good idea, not I. I am but a narrator in this comedy of errors. However, the depression is not over yet my friends... But once again, I digress.
There is a great deal that has been kept from Harry, as for various reasons Harry was wanted to still be the naïve boy that first entered Hogwarts, and gazed at the sky in amazement (Why did nobody realise the roof was made of enchanted glass? A thrid year ancient runes student could replicate it easily.). However, mistakes have been made, and plans have been ruined. Harry is not the same boy anymore. Assumptions were made to be smashed, and smashing will most certainly happen. Everything Harry believes in will be uprooted.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
Author: Jacobim Von Styluss
Disclaimer: This ain't mine, and never will be. Unless JKR's selling, of course.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
Arabella Figg was walking her cats – a fairly common magical custom. Strange as it may seem, it was rather popular in the wizarding world. Cats are intelligent, and the actual action of walking the cat is more that the cat walks the owner, who just follows where the cat leads them. As every day, the cats led her past number 4 Privet, Harry's house, as she'd wanted. She'd made this clear to them, that every walk must include Harry's house, just to check everything was alright. She was starting to think this was pointless, as nothing ever happened to him, he stayed in all day. She would have been worried, but his window faced onto the street, and she could see him leaning against the window from time to time.
She saw a police car heading down the street. "Odd, usually nothing's happening around here, this is the dullest and most prudish street I know." She involuntarily felt a little bit of happiness build in her. "Maybe there's some gossip in this?" As disgusted as she was for caring about the local gossip, it really was the locals rubbing off on her.
She couldn't see anything happening in the house, it really didn't look like anyone was in there. She went up to the house mentally creating some some excuse for asking after the boy. 'Maybe I could ask for his help around my house. Something about 'Me 'ealth ent what it used ta be'?'
She rang the bell, and waited. And waited still. She rang again. No-one was in .
'Hmm. I'll have to check again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'll give Albus a heads up about this. I really don't understand why he removed the guards, though. The man really doesn't make sense.'
She returned to her house.
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Petunia was at the station.
"I plan to file for divorce. I would have done so long ago but I wanted to be totally sure the kids would be out of his grasp. I couldn't let them face him alone."
"I admire you for sticking it out, Mrs Dursley."
"Petunia, please, or at least Mrs Evans. I'm not staying a Dursley much longer."
"Right, well Petunia I think we are finished here. One of my collegues is waiting to take oyu to the hospital to go see your nephew, and then you may do as you wish. Your son is with officer Simpson and will be accompanying you there. I'm assuming you will take full custody of them both? "
"Of course."
"Goodbye Mrs Evans."
"Goodbye officer."
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
"John... get the drip..."
"Jesus... this boy is so malnourished it is unbelievable that he is alive right now..."
"Oh god... I can count this kid's ribs..."
Harry could hear this, and various other voices. He could also hear what sounded like several people bustling around. Strange noises invaded his ears, a running tap, the snap of a somebody putting on a rubber glove. Bemusedly, he thought, 'What a strange dream... usually mine are about Sirius...' He burst into tears at the thought of the name, still half asleep. One of the voices said "Jesus, look at the poor kid..."
It was at this point that Harry realised this wasn't a dream. "He's awake," said one of the doctors.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital, kiddo. Look, you're bashed up pretty bad. We'll need to operate. So just breathe," he said, putting a mask to his face. Harry was out like a light.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
"How is he, Doctor?"
"He should be fine Ms Evans. The operation thus far has been a success, but he'll have ot stay still for a few days. The total injury list was a hairline fracture vertically heading down the skull, three broken ribs, some internal bleeding, and a broken arm. He is stable, the doctors are just setting the rest of the broken bones, he will be fine soon."
"Thank god for that... I don't want to lose my only relative my age." replied Dudley.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
Harry was dreaming. Swirls of clouds, bringing forth cloudy visions of the ones he would attempt to keep his mind from. His mother. His father. Cedric. Sirius.
A ghostlyform, in a Hogwarts robe takes shape;
"Take it together..."
"Why did you let me die? You knew it was a portkey! You knew Moody was a fake!" Cedric shouted, tearfully. "Why? It is all your fault..."
The gas reforms, but Cedric's accusing shouts of "It's your fault!" continue...
"You led me there deliberately, damn it! You knew it was a set up! Was I too much of a hindrance? All your fault..."
The smoky Sirius dissipated, but once again the morbid chorus of "It's your fault... All your fault" continues...
Meanwhile a pain built in Harry's brain, like somebody was bending part of his mind until it snapped.
"Lily, it's him! Take Harry and go!"
"He wouldn't have come after us if it wasn't for you! It's all your fault..."
Four voices muttered the words... "All your fault..." over and over, again and again...
The pressure built, then... snap! With a noise Harry couldn't tell if he'd heard or just felt, the pressure released.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
"Guys! He's going into shock!"
"Quick, get him stabilised! We're losing his vitals!"
"Jesus, no heartbeat!"
"Someone get the defibrillators. I'm gonna get this kid started again..."
"CLEAR!"
The doctor sent a pulse. Harry went into convulsions, his back rigid aginst the operating table, sweat flush on his skin. "Check him."
"Nothing."
The process was repeated.
"Pulse, check."
"Thank god, we've got him back."
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
Two days later, Harry woke up, in the hospital bed, a changed person. He had experienced recall, a magical phenomena that had happened to only one other known person, and was brought about by great mental pain.
Flashback
"Harry, I want to tell you something, in private." Harry looked up.
"Sure Siri." They went into Sirius' bedroom.
"This may come as a shock to you Harry, but you need to know the truth. Dumbledore is untrustworthy. Simple as that. I do not work for the order, actually me and Remus are part of another organisation. Not the Death Eaters, but we are under orders to see if the order of the phoenix is worth joining for the outer branches of society. Remus works for the Werewolves, and i for the Vampires. They accepted me as we are outcasts, who are to be apprehended upon sight, then killed as soon as we are out of the public's sight. I choose to work for them, as I no longer trust Dumbledore."
Sirius pointed at a stone bowl on his bedside table. "That pensieve contains some of mine and Remus' memories. I think you need to know what we found."
Feeling slightly nervous, but trusting Sirius completely, Harry touched the silvery liquid, and was sucked into the memories.
Sirius was lurking in the kitchen with a thoughtful look upon his face, but showed some faint reaction when some faint murmuring came from the direction of the study. Intrigued, Sirius moved closer.
"... too much trouble. I'll have him disposed of..." Old man's voice, undoubtedly Albus However, it was somewhat muffled making it difficult to make out all the words. Albus always had a quiet voice.
"How will you do that, Albus?" Scottish accent, probably McGonagall.
"...as bait for Voldemort. When he...he'll come running. I'm sure he is irresponsible enough to get himself killed... "
The memories paused, and Harry was sucked from the bowl. "There is more, but I need to ask you something. As you can see, Dumbledore is not the hero that he is portrayed as. We are being played for fools. I don't know who the plans are for, but I can guess. Everyone is gonna have to watch their step. I can't expose this yet, though. I need to get it to the vampires and werewolves. They will do it for me. I do not plan on having the vampires or werewolves join Voldemort and I suspect they will follow my advice, and Remus'. We are their only spies in the order, so they have to trust our judgement. I plan on making a recommendation. They throw their support behind you. Whatever side you join, I will. As will Remus. As will the Dark Creatures. Whether it be Evil, Good or something else altogether. After all, evil and good are trading places in this war at the moment. So, will you accept?"
Harry wanted to reject him, 'I can't run an army, damn it!'
"Harry, your status will be that of a very trusted advisor, and you need not worry about command. Both sects of dark creatures have well constructed military systems. You will never be left in the dark."
Harry sighed, "Very well."
At that moment, Dumbledore burst through the door, fury twisting his face. "You forget, Black... Walls have ears. Obliviate!" He snarled.
End Flashback
Harry realised so much that he should have realised before now. Dumbledore was avoiding his eyes. He had read a while ago about how memory charms can leak if the victim is exposed to eye-contact with the caster. This is known as magnetic drainage, and is an affect of many long term offensive spells.
Also, was Dumbledore's target Sirius? Dumbledore knew Harry's mind was undefended, he may have known about Voldemort making plans to go retrieve the prophecy. Also, why was he to believe that the prophecy? Voldemort may believe it, but Harry was not going to assume Dumbledore was telling the truth. In fact, wasn't it rather suspicious that in third year Dumbledore made it clear that Trelawney had made a prophecy before the one referring to Wormtail? Wait, doesn't that raise another...
'This is giving me a headache' Thought Harry. 'I need to get these questions written down...'
The ward door opened, and a doctor entered. "Ah, you're awake. You were out for a while there.Well, the surgery went well, and you will be able to leave in a few days. All the breaks are set, and so long as you are careful, you should be fine. However, you did go into shock once we thought you were stable, and your heart stopped. Luckily, you came out just fine."
"Right, well I'd advise getting some more sleep, as rest is always the best way to heal after a difficult ordeal. You will be continually tired for a while, due to the sedatives in your body."
Harry laid his head on the pillows, and was out like a light.
ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!ohmyword,itsalinebreak!
He had had this dream many times before:
"Lily, it's him! Take Harry and run!"
"No, not Harry, Take me instead!"
"Stand aside, you foolish girl!"
What the hell! Voldemort's voice changed, it was never that tone before. This voice radiates with power and age... Oh hell. No way. No way was Dumbledore there. No... that can't be right, surely not. No, it must be true. The bastard must have obliviated me...'
Harry sprang to a seated position, in his Hospital bed in Greater Whinging. "I'm gonna rip that old murderer to pieces..." he muttered.
AN: - Sad and depressing, I know. The Narrator did warn you though...
I'm awfully sorry if this is, for want of a better word, crap. It was written late at night.
Woo! Poll! Should Harry:
A: Join voldemort
B: Stay with the light, deposing Dumbledore or
C: start his own side, consisting of various unknown factions in the war(werewolves, vampires etc)?
Woo! Another Poll! Pair Harry with:
Draco Malfoy
Tom Riddle – Voldemort
Lucius Malfoy
Rodolphus Lestrange (I like this one... I really do)
Remus Lupin
Sirius Black (Sirius was the missing piece of HP 1 & 2)
Others (Must be Slashy! I'm a slasher through and through)
Woo! Lots of reviews! A2A reviews trickle in at a rate of about one per week (at best) whereas this, (Eyes bulge from sockets)
15/06/05
nljfs – Thanks... I'm not totally sure where it's headed though, I've got ideas buzzing around.
Skull Bearer – Great name! Thanks for the review... the thing about the humour is I can have a sort of dark humour when I'm talking through The Narrator, thats why I have it at the start of every chapter.
Huggiebear – He stayed in his room basically all summer. Not a word had been spoken between them...
Disneyfreak () - Yey! I passed! Sadness is a bit rife I'm afraid, but there is happiness as well. Eventually.
Sappjody – Thanks! This is a lot easier to write in bulk compared to Ashes To Ashes, so you get more to read! Yey!
Koryan'shea – You're the first reviewer to try to guess what i look like. Thanks... I think.Glad to know my textual puppy-dog eyes worked, that could be really useful to know:)
Kelz () - Erm, I ended it there because in England it was about 2 in the morning... and I had three hours of exams later that day. It's good to know you're eager to read it though :) I think this chapter destroyed any doubt about Dumbledore's alignment, don't you?
SilentRaven987 – I certainly plan on keeping it good, obviously, but whether I will succeed is up for debate. Glad you enjoyed it!
Zandra Phillips – Yes you did! I may have hypnotic powers, via text. That'd be useful. Err... the depression carries on a bit, especially in this chapter, I'm afraid However, cheerful stuff does come.
16/06/05
RyanKathrynCelia – Are you three different people? Like a shared account or something? Anyway, thanks for reviewing. I was really happy to hear that you consider it unique. I pride myself on slightly strange plotlines, and unorthodox writing styles. By the way, what do you mean by Harry belonging thing? I have a vague idea, but I'm still not sure.
18/06/05
Frostyhogwarts – Thanks!
20/06/05
ERMonkey Burner of Cookies – You are very close. He may return to Hogwarts, however it is currently more likely that he moves to another school, Durmstrang maybe. After all, he can't avoid England altogether, because there wouldn't be much of a story then.
Woo! Double figures! You don't have any idea how happy I feel. I love sitting at my computer and reading reviews.
Any chance for more?
It would be very nice of you, and easy to do as well. Everything but a flame is welcome, I will answer any question that I can.
There is a little box just below this. It says 'submit review'. See, even the site is telling you to. You can't reject a direct order like that!
(hmm... perhaps I am a bit fanatical about reviews. Ah well – Review Review Review!)